What happens when a remote Arctic community with zero medical radiation technologists needs a chest x-ray — and the nearest one is a plane ride away? In this special crossover episode with SIIMCast, Jason and Mohannad sit down with Greg Toffner, a PhD researcher training local Inuit community members across 25 Nunavut communities to become Basic Radiological Technicians (BRTs). Greg breaks down the concept of task shifting, how it’s reshaping radiology IT access in one of the most geographically isolated regions on earth, and what six years of hands-on curriculum design, mobile x-ray equipment, and government policy work have taught him about building a sustainable imaging informatics workforce from the ground up.You’ll hear real numbers on health disparities in the North, how a 60-procedure competency framework turns a health center janitor into a trusted member of the care team, and where AI might eventually fit into enterprise imaging and radiology workflows in low-resource settings. It’s a conversation about access, dignity, and what imaging informatics looks like when PACS, DICOM, and specialist radiologists aren’t around the corner.If you’re building your own credential in imaging informatics, check out the CIIP Foundations Program at nagelsconsulting.com, and keep an eye out for our upcoming DICOM training program featuring hands-on, live imaging learning labs: Learn more at nagelsconsulting.comKey Topics Covered• What “task shifting” means and how it’s applied to solve radiology workforce shortages in remote Arctic communities• Life inside Nunavut’s 25 flying communities — the geography, climate, and health disparities driving the program (life expectancy, respiratory disease, and smoking rates)• How Greg’s team built a simplified radiology curriculum for learners with no formal healthcare background• The three-phase, hands-on training model — from image critique to a 60-procedure competency audit• Why government policy recognition, not just curriculum quality, is what makes a task-shifted role sustainable• Early findings from Greg’s PhD research: pride, community trust, and the ripple effects on local health outcomes• Where the program is headed next — expanded scope into lab work and ECGs, and where AI might fit inhealthcare IT, medical imaging, radiology technology, healthcare interoperability, PACS administration, DICOM standard, HL7 integration, radiology informatics, imaging workflows, vendor neutral archive, enterprise imaging, radiology AI, medical imaging data, PACS migration, rural health access